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Method

Preheat the oven to 170C/Gas 3/fan oven 150C. Grease a 23cm/9in springform cake tin and line the base with greaseproof paper or baking parchment. Dust the sides with a little flour. Put the chocolate and butter into a heatproof bowl set over a pan of gently simmering water. Heat until melted, then remove the bowl from the pan and stir until smooth. Leave for about 5 minutes to cool slightly.

Stir in the egg yolks, ground almonds, and the liqueur, if using. Put the egg whites into a large bowl, add a pinch of salt and whisk until soft peaks form. Continue whisking, sprinkling in the sugar a little at a time, until stiff peaks form. Stir 2 tablespoons of the whites into the chocolate mixture, then carefully fold in the remainder until no
traces of white are left.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 30-35 minutes until well risen and just firm to the touch. Cool in the tin (don’t worry if the cake sinks and cracks slightly – it will still be fine). You can make the cake up to this stage up to four days ahead and keep it in an airtight container in a cool place. It also freezes well for up to one month.

To serve, remove the cake from the tin and peel away the lining paper. Sift cocoa powder liberally over the top and cut into slices. Serve with crème fraîche.

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Comments, questions and tips

Comments

A handy recipe for those who cannot tolerate gluten or wheat as it is flourless. I made it for my sister for this reason, and while we enjoyed it, I'm not sure that I would make again. I found the texture slightly odd - somewhat soapy (can't think of another word for it).

This is the best gluten-free chocolate cake recipe I have ever used!!! Ever!!! Lots of other recipes i have tried leave the cake moist in the middle and uncooked and too dry and cracked in other areas. I will be saving this one for sure!! Make sure you don't over cook. Cook it for allocated time and I used a square tin so I could cut it into squares for a more contemporary look (dinner party) You won't be disappointed! Oh and I used dark orange chocolate as well as the recommended Cointreau.

Made this on sunday , tasted lovely , not too rich for me , but i found it didnt rise,certainly didnt look like the one in the picture, i followed recipe exactly , used proper size tin . my oven is only 2 years old , so i know its not that , so a bit disappointed , am not a fantastic baker, but everything i have ever made from this site has always worked out , except this .. so dont know what went wrong

This recipe really does need the alcohol to give it a lift. I didn't have any snd I felt it lacked a little something. I grated some of the chocolate on the top which helped and it kept for a few days in the fridge, no problem.

this cake is great!! I have made it many times and discovered that you really need top quality chocolate for this one, makes a huge difference!! It's currently ranked n.3 on our family favourites list :D

Loved this cake - made it for my little girl's birthday party as there were a number of guests who were gluten intolerant. They were so pleased to not only have cake that wouldn't give them a stomachache, but also one that tasted great. Everyone else thought it was delicious too - hit all round

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